'Power of it was dizzying': first-person accounts

Overnight winds from Sandy blew over this tree in New York. Click image to see more Sandy photos. (Stephanie Jeannot/Yahoo! Contributor Network)

From Florida to New England, residents along the eastern seaboard are sharing their anecdotes, photos and videos of Hurricane-turned-"Superstorm" Sandy. Below are excerpts from the latest dispatches from people living through the storm. All times on posts are ET. Interested in writing about your experiences? Share your story at Yahoo! Contributor Network and your Sandy photos on Flickr.

TUESDAY

5:38 p.m.

'Never seen anything like it'

EAST MEADOW, N.Y.?Heavy winds from Hurricane Sandy resulted in several trees getting knocked down here on Long Island.

East Meadow, located in the heart of Nassau County, was ravaged by strong rainfall, severe winds and storm-like conditions on Tuesday.

At my home in Nassau County, my family and I experienced a major scare when howling winds knocked several branches down late on Monday evening.

On Tuesday, many folks on my block were without power, and left to clean up fallen leaves and branches left in the aftermath of the hurricane.

I have never seen anything like it in my 30 years of living in the New York-metro area.

? Eric Holden

3:52 p.m.

Discovering my tree-impaled car in Queens

QUEENS?As I walked out of my apartment building today, the streets were covered in debris from last nights storm. I turned the corner to find a huge branch impaling the passenger side of my windshield.

I quickly unlocked the vehicle to check if there was any internal damage. Although there was glass all over the interior, there seemed to be no major damage to it. The branch that fell was about 10 to 15 feet long and allowed some water to flow into the car. Luckily, there seemed to be no major mechanical issues with the vehicle.

After calling my insurance company, I'm now out $1,000 for the cost of the deductible. Due to the high claim activity, I will be forced to wait at least a week for my car to be processed and fixed.

? Mike Wong

2:36 p.m.

Sandy 'by far the worst' storm in 30 years in Jersey

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, N.J.?I have been a resident here for the past 30 years. Hurricane Sandy is by far the worst hurricane to hit my town. Strong winds and rain began on Monday in the afternoon. We lost power at 4:36 p.m. The height of the storm came around 8 p.m.

This morning, I drove around the neighborhood to survey the damage. There were fallen trees and power lines everywhere.

We are still without power. All of my neighbors and friends are without power. These images show the damage done by Hurricane Sandy. And this is within just a few blocks.

? Edwin Torres

Sandy tore trees from the ground and downed power lines in this New Jersey neighborhood. Click image to see more Sandy photos. (Edwin Torres/Yahoo! Contributor Network)

2:19 p.m.

Weathering 'Superstorm' Sandy in Jersey

DELRAN, N.J.?Many of our neighbors lost power, but we lucked out. We went outside Tuesday and noticed a lot of small and large branches scattered about our front and backyard. A neighbor, just down the street, however, was not so lucky. A very large tree took out the entire side of their house and crushed a car in the driveway. Luckily, the family living in the house was safely rescued and there were no injuries.

Now all we can do is wait, listen to the news and help out wherever we can. We have been told there could be more rain today, so there is still danger of trees falling and flooding not receding.

? Julie Wimmer

11:46 a.m.

Park Slope retains power, mostly intact

BROOKLYN?On the morning after Hurricane Sandy made landfall, millions of New Yorkers were still left without power. However, in the area surrounding Prospect Park, this is not the case. Residents, including myself, still have power, and but for a few flickers here and there during the heaviest winds, never lost it. At the same time, the comparative lack of winds and higher elevation as opposed to other parts of Brooklyn have also left Park Slope free from flooding.

Other than a few gusts of wind here and there, the weather in Park Slope is nothing that would prevent myself or any other residents from going about their daily business. With that said, because of the major flooding elsewhere in the city, and especially in a number of subway tunnels, Brooklynites are basically stranded until further notice. A small price to pay for escaping the brunt of the storm mostly intact.

? Zev Ketura

Scenes from New York City on Monday. (Photos by Scott Witt/Flickr)

10:38 a.m.

Sandy creeps into northern Ohio, bending trees and whipping winds

MARBLEHEAD, Ohio?This morning, obsessed with going out into what felt like 60 mph winds, I donned a raincoat and rubber boots and went. Making my way around the side of the house situated next to a tall boat barn, I was almost pushed over despite the wind cover. I stiffened my legs against the force, but knew staying out any longer, I'd be down. The power of it was dizzying. Not very sure about whether a tree on our partly wooded lot might timber down on me in the darkness, I was back inside in a flash.

Trees are bent over ready to touch the ground. Overnight, the autumn colors disappeared. Skies outline barren rain-soaked tree branches. With snow season upcoming, normally we would have had an artistic study in black and white. Yet now, the horizon is an imperious miserable grey. A storm like Sandy serves us as a memento of how utterly small we really are in this universe.

? Caralell Gibson

12:30 a.m.

In New Jersey, trees falling and wind howling from Sandy

DENVILLE, N.J.?The tree fell easily. It was a thud. The lights flickered and came back on. It's a shock to think we still have power at this point but we are one of the lucky ones. I'd expect that will change soon.

When the winds blow, it sounds like a freight train. As I write, I read posts from my friends across New Jersey. Trees are down everywhere. Nearly everyone is without power. Each time I hear a strong gust the lights flicker and I hear something else hit the house.

My family and I have a makeshift camp in our basement where we will all sleep this evening. The chance of a tree falling on the house makes it too unsafe to be anywhere else. Only a few blocks away, this tree (pictured above) overturned and gratefully did so across a lawn. It missed the home and cars... more importantly it missed people.

We are now in the heart of the storm as the gusts are expected to keep up until midnight tonight. I fear for what we will see when daylight comes tomorrow

? Gioia Degenaars

12:18 a.m.

New York streets dangerous with falling debris

BROOKLYN?As the night progresses, it is getting scarier. The wind is coming in through every crevice of the old buildings many of us live in. Massive power outages are beginning to affect the city. Internet is starting to crash as well.

The FDR (a major highway in NYC) is flooded. This is a big outlet to and from the city. Crashes and clangs are being heard from outside. Making many of us wonder what is flying through the streets. Stores are closed. ATMs are malfunctioning.

While stepping out to throw out a smelly bag of trash, a piece of metal scaffolding flew down from more than five stories up and landed within four feet of me. (See picture.)

Winds are more dangerous than they feel right now. This city has much debris, making it seriously dangerous outside.

? Melissa Walker

12:02 a.m.

Sandy uproots tree, smashes Queens garage

QUEENS?Earlier Monday, a huge tree in Queens was knocked over by the powerful winds of Hurricane Sandy. Luckily no people were hurt; the tree just crushed the garage. As I walked by, I snapped pictures of the accident and you can see how it just barely missed the main house on the left.

The Forest Hills Gardens neighborhood in Queens is known for its English-style homes and large trees. However, during storms like this, it's best for the residents to stay indoors, take in their Halloween decorations, and park their cars in the garage. The force of the hurricane winds are so fierce you have to worry about the whole tree and not just the falling branches.

? Mike Wong

A tree smashed into this garage in Queens on Monday. Click image to see more Sandy photos. (Mike Wong/Yahoo! Contributor Network)

MONDAY

11:49 p.m.

Lulled for 'Superstorm' Sandy by indolent Irene

HOBOKEN, N.J.?As I sit in my darkened apartment, typing with a flashlight, I cannot believe that Sandy seemed inconsequential only 12 hours ago. 48 hours ago, I was enjoying the beginning of a weeklong series of Halloween celebrations for my three young children. Now, I sit with sewage-laden flood waters lapping at my children's bicycles and beloved possessions in the garage while the water inexorably rises through the building stairwell, leaving destruction in its wake.

Hoboken has hurricane fatigue. With two major storms in 14 months and the letdown of evacuating homes that remain pristine during our absences, my neighbors blithely disregarded the storm warnings over the last few days; virtually no one evacuated.

I first became aware that the threat was serious when I woke up on Monday morning to a picture of flooding at the Hoboken train station. Reports came in through the morning of high levels of water first lapping at the Hoboken waterfront and then flooding Sinatra Drive. The highest point in Hoboken, Castle Point, never floods -- until today. Heavy wind took down trees around City Hall and led to the explosion of a power station that plunged half of Hoboken into darkness. In anticipation of losing power, I established a text message group to stay in contact with local parents. The reports trickling in became increasingly dire as the storm surge moved west. Car alarms and explosions have punctuated the night.

? Kathy Zucker

6:40 p.m.

In Virginia, empty shelves at stores

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.?At noon, I took it upon myself to visit a couple of my friends and go around the city of Herndon to randomly ask how people are dealing with the preparations for the storm.

We went to the shopping mall and asked a woman, Janice, what she thinks. She said she's glad for the storm because it finally gives her a break from all the boring election news coverage on TV.

Brad Dansky, 22, said he "scored bananas and an LED flashlight at the 7-11. Woohoo."

Janette, 51, said she's taking bets with all her friends on how many leaks she'll find in the ceilings of her house this week and that she's going to brunch like there's no tomorrow.

Wendy Shaw, 34, says her plan of attack for the hurricane is to "get a few party boxes of tacos and call it a day."

We were surprised that there were a group of guys playing flag football in their yards. They said, "Sandy? BRING IT ON!!"

? Samuel Gonzales

6:24 p.m.

Hurricane Sandy flexes her power on Long Island

LONG ISLAND?Just past noon, I went out to take a few pictures expecting to do a before and after. Sandy had other plans, though. The water had already come inland in several places blocking roads and causing evacuations. Trees and telephone poles were down before 2 p.m.. Here are a few of the pictures I took today. The storm still hasn't really hit us here yet. I shudder to think the kind of damage we are about to experience.

? Edward J. Neary

Hurricane Sandy's storm surges flood portions of Moriches Inlet on Long Island on Monday afternoon. (Edward J. Neary/Yahoo! Contributor Network)

4:10 p.m.

Power still on in Far Rockaway in Queens

QUEENS?Folks around town crowded the local grocery store, Food Dynasty, and purchased huge amounts of food. I was one of them. While some people left Far Rockaway, others in the houses near me and the apartment building I live in stayed. For a while, things seemed calmed. The wind picked up, then died down.

By late this morning, the wind hit the building pretty hard and I could hear the wind's blasts. While there has been rain, my apartment in Far Rockaway has not experienced flooding as of 2:10 p.m.

At times, though, the whole building seems to shake. Power has not been affected. One lone man left the building during the storm. I wasn't sure who he was or why he was leaving the building in the middle of the storm on his bicycle. I just sat in my room, waiting for the storm to blow over, thankful I still had power.

? Justin Samuels

4:03 p.m.

Wind gusts increasing in Morris County, New Jersey

DENVILLE, N.J.?Hurricane Sandy is a monster to be sure. My family and I have tied down everything we can outside. We have a make-shift camp in our basement for fear of downed tree limbs. We are as ready as we can be for power outages. We sit and wait for Sandy's approaching wrath.

Gusts have already started that will reach upward of 60 to 70 mph by this evening. The trees swaying in the back are a fearful reminder of the damage that this storm can bring to us in northern New Jersey. While we do not have the ocean to contend with, we do have many rivers and large trees that can damage our homes.

? Gioia Degenaars

3:59 p.m.

Sandy already bringing down tree limbs in New York

BROOKLYN?As the storm approaches New York City, residents are preparing to hunker down for the immediate future. As of 2 p.m. on Monday in Crown Heights (in central Brooklyn) the storm gusts are increasing and the streets are pretty much empty.

Trees are starting to go down and branches litter the street. The winds are not very high, but as they increase, the damage will be much greater. With expected gusts up to 75 mph and with trees already going down with gusts of around 35 mph, this has the potential to be damaging as the buildings start creating a wind-tunnel effect.

Transportation has ground to a halt and the schools are closed. As a transplant from the South, weathering a storm of this magnitude in the Northeast is a bit odd. As the flooding in areas in NYC increases, watching the news turns those of us not in the evacuation zones into outsiders looking in, as well.

? Melissa Walker

A view of a flooded street in New York on Monday. Click image to see more photos. (Photo courtesy of Nick Cope via Melissa Walker/Yahoo! Contributor Network)

3:42 p.m.

A stormy wedding, thanks to Hurricane Sandy

QUEENS?My wedding is in four days. And while most of the preparations are ready, there are a few things that went wrong and need to be handled last-minute.

Last night, I was visiting my fiance's relatives in Massapequa. An hour after we got back to my mom's house in Elmont, we found out that they had to evacuate their home. His cousins in Long Beach were supposed to evacuate as well since they live right by the water, but they decided to stay home. They've since put up pictures on Facebook of the deluge outside their front steps as well as a snapshot of a reporter from ABC News coming over to interview them.

When I first heard about the magnitude of the storm, one of my first thoughts was, Oh no, I never got wedding insurance. And I sure as heck won't be able to get it now. When I was on the fence about purchasing wedding insurance, I thought that it ultimately wouldn't come in handy because the only disaster I could think of was a snowstorm, and those don't happen in this part of New York in November.

? Tricia Bangit

2:46 p.m.

On Upper East Side, Sandy is bad, but not horrible yet

MANHATTAN?Power remains on, the streets still have people and cars and, except for the pending arrival of the really bad weather, it seems like any other day.

Reports from friends and co-workers from the Jersey shore to Long Island say that the ocean is really kicking up and flooding has been anywhere from moderate to very bad. A friend reports that water was coming up to Ocean Avenue in Belmar, N.J., and another friend who decided to stay in her apartment in Battery Park is reporting water on the rise.

Do not be fooled, the worst is yet to come! Rain, wind and flooding will all increasingly worse as the day progresses. Stay inside or head to a shelter.

? TR Threston

1:27 p.m.

Blustering hollers of wind in New York

QUEENS?Earlier, I tweeted, "Hurricanes are always such teases. It's 2012. Bring on a real apocalypse already." Perhaps that was a bit arrogant, and I'll fully understand the irony should this hurricane murder me. However, I'm confident that it will sweep over with little impact on my life.

Outside, its effects are definitely being felt. The closure of the MTA for any given amount of time surely impacts business and industry substantially. I'm curious what operations may still be up and running during this windy mess. I've occasionally looked outside to see the trees moving back and forth from the gusts. The streets are mostly empty. I've seen no people today, but did see a single car driving around earlier.

I'm doing what I should do to stay safe: absolutely nothing. The real danger, if there is any, would be outside. So, I'm staying inside, and you should probably do the same. There are mandatory evacuations apparently happening in the major flood zones. I happen to be in a groove surrounded by Zone C, the least likely to flood. So, even if Zone A is in danger, my apartment building should be fine.

? Clayburn Griffin

11:22 a.m.

Expecting Hurricane Sandy floods in Denville and Rockaway, N.J.

DENVILLE, N.J.?This year we are ready. We've sand-bagged. We've moved things out of the way of water. We've lowered lakes and boarded up. Yet, something about Hurricane Sandy fills us with a dread that most of us in New Jersey cannot shake.This picture is a scene from the Broadway area of Denville on Sunday afternoon.

Residents of Denville and Rockaway are expecting the Rockaway River to spill over its banks and cause massive flooding just one year after Hurricane Irene nearly wiped out the main street.

? Gioia Degenaars

11:01 a.m.

Hurricane Sandy takes aim at northeastern Pennsylvania

MILFORD, Pa.?As of 10 a.m. on Monday morning, the track of Hurricane Sandy puts it just a few short hours away from here in northeastern Pennsylvania.

But already the winds are picking up in Pike County.

It is anticipated to make landfall along the Delaware coast, just south of Philadelphia. By the time the eye reaches inland, the winds are expected to cause it to be downgraded to a tropical storm. But by then, the damage for areas such as Pike County will have been done. Traditionally in this area, the rain will loosen the ground beneath trees and power poles. The high winds then rip these from the ground. In the past power has been off for days and weeks at a time. With the predictions calling for this storm to be worse than Irene of just two years ago, residents are gearing up for the worst: They're buying up water and staple foods at our local Wal-Mart, Kmart and other grocery stores. Even convenience stores like the Turkey Hill in Milford are feeling the panic.

? Charles B Reynolds

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/hurricane-sandy-wet-loud-monster-residents-stories-storm-203210634.html

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Treasury says expects to hit debt limit before 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury said on Wednesday it was still on track to hit the debt limit near the end of the year though emergency tools would allow the department to continue borrowing funds to keep the government operating through early 2013.

As of Monday, the Treasury was $235 billion below the $16.4 trillion legal amount the government is allowed to borrow. The Treasury did not provide details on when the emergency tools would run their course, but analysts have forecast this to happen in the latter half of February.

This gives the Obama administration some breathing room to broker a deal with Congress to find a solution to the so-called fiscal cliff or the $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that are due to kick in at the end of the year.

The committee of Wall Street firms that advises the Treasury on borrowing needs said the outlook for fiscal policy is dominating near-term economic prospects.

"A timely and orderly resolution of this uncertainty would contribute meaningfully to an improvement in the economic outlook," the committee said in its report to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

After next Tuesday's presidential and congressional elections, the administration and lawmakers will have less than two months to find a way to avoid the cliff.

The Treasury also announced a $72 billion quarterly funding of its 3-year, 10-year and 30-year debt securities, which will raise $8.9 billion in new cash. It also said it expects to keep its debt sales stable in coming months.

Earlier this week, the Treasury cut its borrowing estimates for the final quarter of the year due to higher revenues and less government spending.

The Treasury said it still had not made a decision on whether to allow investors to bid on securities that offer negative interest rates but said the department still planned on issuing floating-rate notes late next year.

(Reporting By Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/treasury-says-expects-hit-debt-limit-2013-133305657--business.html

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Beware of These 7 Scary Real Estate Listings

by hookedonhouses on October 31, 2012

1. When they have to announce that a house isn?t haunted, it?s never a good sign.

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2. The bad news is that this house is haunted. The good news is that he cooks breakfast.

3. Raise your hand if the headless woman from the Civil War era would make you jump when you came up those stairs?

4. A bathroom that looks like a crime scene always makes a listing memorable.

?5. Nothing like a ?Welcome? sign in the entry hall to make visitors feel right at home. ?Is Slaughter the family?s last name??

6. Anyone else thinking of the ?Rubber Man? from American Horror Story?

7. You might want to put an area rug right?there.

More Creepiness in the Real Estate Listings:

6 Freaky Real Estate Photos for Halloween

?Buy This House or Else??

5 Very Scary Real Estate Listings

Visit My ?Funny Listing Photos? Page to See Them All!

(Stained floor via Curbed. Bloody tub via AOL Real Estate. Kristina snapped the ?Not Haunted? sign. Sharon found the cooking ghost in a New Zealand listing. Headless woman via Old House Dreams. ?Slaughterhouse? was from a listing in California.)

Tagged as: Bad MLS Photos, funny real estate photos, ghosts, Halloween, haunted houses, real estate listings

Source: http://hookedonhouses.net/2012/10/31/beware-of-these-7-scary-real-estate-listings/

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Video: Storm Takes Aim at Ports & Refineries

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49610120/

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South Dakota executes man who murdered 9-year-old girl

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ? A South Dakota inmate was executed Tuesday night for the 1990 rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl who disappeared after leaving her home to buy sugar at a nearby store so she could make lemonade.

Donald Moeller, 60, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls, marking South Dakota's second execution this month in an unusual surge for a state that has carried out just two other death sentences since 1913.

When asked if he had any last words, Moeller replied, "No sir," and then said, "They're my fan club?"

Moeller then was administered a lethal injection at 10:01 p.m. He took about eight heavy breaths before the breathing stopped and Moeller turned slightly pink.

Moeller's eyes remained open, and his skin turned ashen, then purple. The coroner checked for vital signs, and Moeller was pronounced dead at 10:24 p.m.

Moeller kidnapped Becky O'Connell from a Sioux Falls convenience store, where she'd gone to buy sugar to make lemonade at home. He drove her to a secluded area near the Big Sioux River, then raped and stabbed the girl. Her naked body was found the next day; investigators said her throat had been slashed.

Becky's mother, Tina Curl, has been steadfast in her wish to watch Moeller die, even raising funds to cover the expenses to make the 1,400-mile trip from her home in New York state to Sioux Falls for the execution.

After the execution, she showed pictures of Becky at 9 followed by a framed artist's rending of what she would have looked like at 32.

Her husband, Dave Curl, said Moeller will never hurt another child.

"We despise that so-called man," he said. "The death of Donald Moeller is not going to give us closure."

Moeller initially was convicted in 1992, but the state Supreme Court overturned it, ruling that improper evidence was used at trial. He was again convicted and sentenced to die in 1997. The state Supreme Court affirmed the sentence, and Moeller lost appeals on both the state and federal levels.

Though he fought his conviction and sentence for years, Moeller in July he said he was ready to accept death as the consequence of his actions. He admitted for the first time in court that he killed the girl.

"I killed. I deserve to be killed," he said.

But even as Moeller insisted he was ready to die, several motions were filed on his behalf to stop the execution despite his protests.

Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed a pending suit challenging South Dakota's execution protocol after Moeller insisted he wanted no part of it. Moeller also distanced himself from a motion filed by a woman with loose family ties who argued that his decades in solitary confinement had made him incapable of voluntarily accepting his fate. That motion was dismissed Monday.

Moeller's execution comes just two weeks after the Oct. 15 execution of Eric Robert for killing South Dakota prison guard Ronald "R.J." Johnson during a failed escape attempt.

Before that, the last execution in South Dakota was in 2007, when Elijah Page died by lethal injection for the murder of Chester Allan Poage, who was abducted and killed in a scheme to burglarize his mother's home.

In 1947, George Sitts was electrocuted for killing two law enforcement officers. And in 1913, Joseph Rickman was hanged for the murder of a woman and her daughter.

They were among 17 inmates executed since 1877, the oldest of which came during the days of the Dakota Territory.

___

Associated Press News Editor Amber Hunt contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sd-executes-man-rape-death-9-old-girl-034521465.html

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Marketers Make an Internet Time Machine | Digiday

Scott Greer, digital marketing specialist and?Maureen Higgins digital marketing manager at Nashville-based agency Bohan?started a fun side project in the form of a Tumblr. It?s called Internet Time Machine, and it showcases screenshots of?funny examples of websites from the 1990s and early 2000s, the early days of the Interweb.

Greer and Higgins took time to talk about their Tumblr, why nostalgic content does so well these days, and what the future of the Web looks like.

What gave you guys the idea to start the Tumblr?
Scott Greer: While redesigning our new website, we started talking about old versions of it but couldn?t seem to dig up screenshots anywhere. A co-worker told us about this Web archive site called the Wayback Machine, and then, just for fun, we started searching for some big-name companies to see their outdated website designs from the 1990s and early 2000s. From there, we were pleasantly surprised just how outdated some of the sites were. Fast food restaurants in particular were absolutely hilarious, and that gave us the idea to document some of the best ones with our own Tumblr blog called ?Internet Time Machine.?

What is it about Web artifacts that people like so much?
Maureen Higgins: People find humor in antiquated technology ? I think it reminds us of the progress we?ve made in such a short amount of time. People remember the AOL dial-up noise, and it makes them feel nostalgic towards their first experiences and interactions on the Internet. I myself will hang onto my VCR and Walkman until I am 80.

SG: On the Internet, a website from 2000 feels like it was built in 1900. There is something fascinating about how quickly the Web progresses, and it makes people reminisce very easily about trends of yesteryear. Even something from 2010 can feel outdated, and responsive?design?is a testament to?ever-changing?nature of the Web.

BuzzFeed has a whole section devoted to blasts from the past. Why do you think nostalgic content does so well online?
MH: Thinking about the past is less scary than thinking about the future. People find comfort in the things that made them happy in the past. It?s funny because I think in some ways the Internet ruins nostalgia. Your mind remembers a TV show or a commercial fondly; the Internet allows you to take 5 seconds and actually locate it. Sometimes things we remember as awesome aren?t awesome, and the Internet helps you realize this.

SG:?The Web redefines what nostalgic means. The online world moves so fast that basically anyone who has been alive for the past 20 years or more has a first-hand account of the evolution of the Web. That being said, everyone can relate to what has happened since the days of AOL or MySpace, and it?s incredible to witness something from just five years ago become ?nostalgic? virtually overnight.

What are some defining characteristics of?1990s and early 2000s?websites?
MH: ?Awesomely bad clip art and animated backgrounds. It?s funny because early websites actually seem simpler. Quick navigation and limited page content were key because you?d still have to wait 30 seconds for even the simplest page to load then.

SG: Cheesy animations, excessive use of Times New Roman, and a ton of ?this site is best optimized for Netscape and Internet Explorer,? which is pretty comical in today?s world of Chrome and Firefox.

What trends do you foresee for the Web?
MH: I would say broadly that mobile devices and multi-screen experiences are where we?re headed. People aren?t just watching TV anymore; they using their other devices to help them consume traditional media. Once marketers start making multi-channels work together seamlessly, the entire game will change.

SG: As everyone knows, it?s impossible to predict anything on the Web. However, one of the biggest trends?I?foresee is the rise of social data being used for traditional media purposes. It?s incredible to think about?the amount of consumer data that Facebook has at its disposal, and once that can be used to inform other media decisions,?the advertising and marketing world will change dramatically.

Do you think responsive design is worth all of the hype?
MH: If it?s done right, yes. Anything done poorly is a poor experience. We?re all mobile now, so whether designing responsively or not, you have to think of mobile first. If you try to squish a desktop site onto a mobile screen, whether it?s designed responsively or not is irrelevant. People don?t have the time or energy to consume massive amounts of content on your site, no matter what device they?re looking at it on. When we redesigned our site, we started at 320 and worked our way up to a more robust desktop experience.

SG: Responsive design is an incredible new technology, but it really has to be executed correctly. That is to say, a mobile-first approach is essential for designing a website that will adapt to various devices. You cannot just create a desktop design and expect it to naturally ?collapse? into the mobile format. As we all know, mobile is king, and your responsive site must be developed entirely around that fact.

Source: http://www.digiday.com/etc/marketers-make-an-internet-time-machine/

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Keymonk is a Super Fast and Accurate Android Keyboard, Is Like Swype with Two Fingers

Android: Keymonk is a new Android keyboard replacement that takes the idea of swiping your fingers across letters to input text up a notch. Turn your phone sideways and use both thumbs to input text, or put it in portrait mode and use one?either way it's fast, accurate, and best of all, free.

We love Swype, the Android keyboard that pioneered the idea of drawing your words instead of tapping them, and even though it recently updated, it's not for everyone. If your don't like the idea of drawing your words, Keymonk won't appeal to you, but if you miss being able to use your thumbs, Keymonk combines the best of both worlds: fast landscape input with your thumbs, and fast portrait input with one or two fingers.

You can see how the app works in the video above. The developers say that the app was designed for speed, and it showed when we tested the app. Overall, it felt faster at recognizing the words I typed, even if some of them were wrong, and even though using my thumbs in landscape mode felt awkward at first, eventually I stopped whacking my thumbs into one another. Still, it took some getting used to.

Keymonk is free and available now at Google Play. There is a $4 "full version" available that allows you to add custom words to the dictionary, hide the suggestions list if you're just that accurate, unlocks the settings screen, and lets you auto-add spaces after punctuation marks so you don't have to. Grab the free version if you're interested in giving it a shot.

Keymonk | Google Play via #tips

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/qsOpo6tGM84/keymonk-is-a-super-fast-and-accurate-android-keyboard-is-like-swype-with-two-fingers

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Report: Akin repeatedly arrested at 1985 abortion protests

ST LOUIS (AP) ? Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin was repeatedly arrested during anti-abortion protests in the 1980s, including at least once when police had to carry him away, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Akin, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in the Nov. 6 election, acknowledged last month during a campaign event that that he had been arrested about 25 years ago as part of an anti-abortion protest. But Akin has repeatedly declined to discuss additional details.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on its website Tuesday that its newspaper archives include at least three accounts of Akin being arrested in March and April of 1985 for criminal trespass and resisting arrest at abortion clinics in the St. Louis area. He apparently never was charged.

The St. Louis police department also confirmed in response to an open-records filed by a representative of the liberal advocacy group People For the American Way that Akin was arrested May 9, 1987, but it said records of the arrest were closed under state law because Akin never convicted.

Akin's firm anti-abortion stance gained national attention in the Senate race when he remarked in a mid-August TV interview that women's bodies have ways of avoiding pregnancy in "legitimate rape." Akin repeatedly apologized and said he was wrong, but Akin has continued to emphasize that he opposes abortion in all instances except rare cases when it is necessary to save the life of the woman.

A video circulating on the Internet in September showed Akin discussing his past involvement in abortion protests during a speech to supporters. He was recorded as saying: "You know, don't tell anybody I'm a jailbird." He explained: "a bunch of us sat in front of these doors and the police gave us a ride to the free hotel for a while, and you know how it goes."

At a Kansas City news conference last month, Akin confirmed he had been arrested about 25 years ago but provided no further details. His campaign said at the time that it would release additional details but never did so.

Asked last Saturday by The Associated Press to elaborate on when and where he was arrested, Akin again declined to do so.

"We're not talking about that at all," Akin told the AP. "It was 25 years ago, and I think it underlines the fact that I stand up for the things I believe and I'm pro-life, and we're just leaving it there."

Akin campaign adviser Rick Tyler said Tuesday that Akin does not dispute the Post-Dispatch account of his arrests but still has nothing more to say.

McCaskill's campaign declined to comment Tuesday about Akin's arrests. McCaskill canceled her campaign events through the rest of the week to be with her critically ill mother, who was in the hospital Tuesday.

The newspaper said it had missed the 1985 arrests in previous searches of its archives because the news stories had listed Akin by his first name, William. Akin went by his middle name, Todd, when he began his political career by running for the state House in 1988. He has continued to go by Todd Akin since winning election to Congress in 2000.

According to the Post-Dispatch archives, a 37-year-old William Akin from Creve Coeur ? whose name and address matches other information about the future lawmaker ? was among a group of protesters arrested on March 15, 1985. The newspapers account said: "Nineteen anti-abortion demonstrators who refused to leave the waiting room of an abortion clinic in the Central West End were carried out by St. Louis police officers."

Three weeks later, another six protesters, including Akin, were arrested at another St. Louis demonstration. "Police had to carry Akin into an elevator," the story said.

On April 5, 1985, Akin was arrested again as one of 10 protesters who were "attempting to block entrances" at the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Ill., according to the paper. One clinic employee told the paper that the protesters caused minor damage and leveled "verbal abuse" at women entering the clinic.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/akin-repeatedly-arrested-1985-abortion-protests-224905200--election.html

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Scientists deepen genetic understanding of multiple sclerosis ...

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Source: http://www.humanhealthandscience.com/scientists-deepen-genetic-understanding-of-multiple-sclerosis-3-2/general

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Self Improvement Guidelines To Help You Develop In | Information

Putting a personal-help plan into measures can turn your life close to very quickly. Even so, you may well be uncertain about where you should start this process of improvement. All you need to begin can be found in these tips.

Make an attempt to improve a very important factor at any given time rather than broadening your emphasis. You might want to increase low self esteem multiple elements of your self, but maintaining a thin focus makes it much simpler to define and achieve your desired goals. By restricting your emphasis and adding modifications progressively, the modification is prone to be permanent.

Spend some time performing something that making you delighted. You need to enjoy life towards the fullest, and avoid being a spectator who designer watches the globe pass. Should you just discover your life as it passes you by, you will be just waiting for the conclusion and never living.

Most companies don?t cherish your school or college or university, they worry about the level you earned and provided you can total the project. A couple of conditions are out there to this principle. Should you be thinking of a job in national politics, using a big law practice, or for a well established healthcare facility, then this famous institution may possibly help you. Providing you have a education, you will possess a lot more available choices.

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A great leader should be very humble in addition to highly effective. When rebukes are needed, be gentle however business, and keep in mind that you must be capable of serve in order to direct properly. An efficient head is virtuous and principles reliability. Reliability is important for successful authority.

Take a large stage toward your individual growth by cultivating selfless actions. Having the capability to compromise for some individuals, and sensation happiness with their contentment, builds up your character. You can expect to soon get to be the individual you picture for your self, in case you have learned the capability to individually compromise without having doing harm to your own effectively-being.

1 very good suggestion if you are looking at self improvement options is always to respect your system. Listen to the indicators your body transmits you: exhaustion, food cravings, soreness or soreness. Respond straight away to them, for the sake of your overall health. Accomplishing this will make it possible for your whole body to perform proficiently in the future. Lapsing into bad health by not meeting your body?s needs could have consequences.

Should you experience issues meeting the individual development desired goals you add on your own, do not be scared to quit and make a frank examination in the issue. Take a little time to check out what other individuals have performed when their goals have been related. You could possibly simulate a selection of their ideas or study from their positive results. The trouble can be that you have unreal expectations, that you determine your self as well harshly or that you have to try a distinct route.

Routine workouts is essential to the personal development. Receiving adequate sleep, having a healthy diet plan, and working out regularly are simple pursuits that always keep energy great, plus it gives you an improved chance at becoming successful with the personal development. It may look simple, but it can be quite difficult to properly take care of your self.

Make an attempt to find new ways to obstacle yourself. Choosing a new problem will open new options. You can pick-up newer and more effective skills in the learning procedure. An additional benefit of difficult on your own is the opportunity to increase your amount of fulfillment. Try out to consider impressive triumphs, rather than subsequent in anyone else?s keeps track of.

Element of self improvement is expanding your knowledge. It is recommended even so, which you use this information. You are able to become your own special man or woman in a number of methods. You could start to feel happier about yourself whenever you place this information into measures.

Source: http://gosselinfiat.com/self-help/self-improvement-guidelines-to-help-you-develop-in/

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Size does matter in sexual selection, at least among beetles

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) ? A new collaborative project among researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden and the University of Cincinnati has, for the first time, demonstrated experimentally the evolutionary force behind the rapid evolution of male genitals, focusing on a species of seed beetle.

This mechanism is revealed in a study published October 25 in the scientific journal Current Biology. The experiments leading to this paper involved a species of seed beetle known as Callosobruchus maculatus. Mating among these beetles involves several males engaging in copulation with individual females.

"When a female mates with several males, the males compete over the fertilization of her eggs," said Michal Polak, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Cincinnati, one of the co-authors. "Because females mate with multiple males, the function of the male copulatory organ may determine which of the males will fertilize most of her eggs. Our results show that the morphology of the male genitalia affects his fertilization success in these beetles."

The competition to produce offspring is the driving force of evolution. Competition among males occurring after insemination may be an important evolutionary force that has led to the evolution of a diversity of shapes and sizes of male sexual organs, the co-authors assert. This competition among males has generated a great biological diversity that they believe can directly contribute to the formation of new species.

"The reproductive organs of animals with internal fertilization change more rapidly than all other morphological features during evolution," Polak said. "In virtually all groups of animals, from roundworms and molluscs to reptiles and mammals, the male sex organs differ markedly among even closely related species, with female genital traits remaining relatively unchanged."

To experimentally investigate the role of genital shape in reproductive success, the Swedish researchers -- Cosima Hotzy, Goran Arnqvist and Johanna L. Ronn -- bred male beetles with extraordinarily long genital spines. They simultaneously bred male beetles with extremely small spines. Experiments demonstrated that the males with long spines produced substantially more offspring.

"It is possible, however, that breeding for long spines introduced a secondary trait that affects fertility," Polak said. Unintended consequences, he said, are well known to animal breeders.

To prove that it was the spines and not some other trait, some beetles had their genital spines surgically modified using micro-scale laser surgery. Polak's laboratory has gained an international reputation for using a precision laser system to make microscopic changes to insect bodies.

Insects modified through both methods were then observed throughout the competitive mating process. The international team found that the longer genital spines directly contributed to successful fertilization. Seminal fluid from the males was also tracked through high-resolution radioisotope labels, and shown to enter the female body more quickly after mating with long-spined males than short-spined males.

"This provides experimental evidence that male genital morphology influences success in postcopulatory reproductive competition," Polak said.

There is more work to be done, Polak said, to understand the mechanism at work here. It is possible that these longer spines help introduce bio-active molecules from seminal fluid into the female circulatory system. These added proteins and peptides, which have yet to be characterized, may create effects within the female that contribute to male reproductive success. It is also possible that genital spines exert mechanical effects within the female by stimulating her reproductive tract during copulation, thereby inducing the female to uptake and use more of her current mate's sperm.

The study was funded by the European Research Council, the Swedish Research Council, and the National Science Foundation.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Cincinnati. The original article was written by Greg Hand.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Cosima Hotzy, Michal Polak, Johanna?L. R?nn, G?ran Arnqvist. Phenotypic Engineering Unveils the Function of Genital Morphology. Current Biology, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.009

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/MHcxC_xvomg/121025130924.htm

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Can We Still Be Friends? | The Hairpin

So maybe you?ve read the Scientific American article that came out yesterday that basically told you that although you think we?re just platonic friends I secretly entertain the possibility that someday we?ll be more than that. Yeah, sorry about that. What can I tell you? I think you?re amazing and I like you a lot.

And I hope we can still be friends. Even if Science says we can?t be. When has Science ever been wrong? The Atkins Diet, for one. This is just one study. They can get one study to tell you that you should eat bacon in the shower every day and live until you?re 150. That?s why I do that. And I?m sure that in a few years they will have a study that will prove the absolute opposite of this one. Until then, where does that leave us?

It?s obviously not a huge shock to you that I find you attractive and sometimes wonder about what it would be like to date you. I?m a single guy. Who wouldn?t be attracted to someone like you? You?re smart, you dress cool, you are funny. The skill set for girlfriend isn?t so different than the skill set for being a good platonic friend. Maybe you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a wife or whatever. I?m not necessarily trying to break up your serious relationship. I get to hear about all the great and lousy things this other person does to you in your relationship, and maybe I sometimes wonder if I could do a better job as your sexual and life partner. I wonder this about 99% of the population, too. I?m free to entertain the possibility that anyone could be the next person I will be with. Maybe for women, sending men to the Friend Zone is like Superman sending Zod to the Phantom Dimension. You put us in a box that can never be opened. But then, sometimes, you do open that box.?

I?d much prefer to date someone who had been my friend first. Much like I?d like to drive a car for a few years before I ever have to start to pay for it. I obviously still enjoy thinking that I can do almost anything with my life. I still sometimes believe I could be a knuckleballer for the Mets. I wouldn?t want to pitch for the Red Sox because if I stunk up the joint I?d never be invited home for holidays again. And when you date someone who's been your friend, you?re already well-aware that you like this person, are attracted to them, can deal with it when they cry, are interested in them as people beyond the whole sex thing. I don?t fear falling out of attraction with people, but I do fear that point in any relationship where you literally cannot think of a damned thing to say to someone else. You start mentioning redoing the kitchen because that is literally the only thing you can think to say. ?Should we become vegetarians?? ?Really?? ?No, I just have completely run out of other things to say to you.? I?m pretty sure this is the only reason people have children, because then you ALWAYS have something to talk about because the kid took a poo in the piano or whatever.

I?m not always subtle about being attracted to you. But I?m pretty sure you don?t mind it that much, even if you?re not attracted to me. I always make time for you, I don?t blow you off for hours, I never leave you hanging for very long. And it?s not like I?m ever going to do anything about being attracted to you. Maybe some night you?ll get drunk and call me up because a pigeon flew in a window of your apartment and you can?t get it out and we are chasing it around your bed with a blanket and we both jump on the bed at the same time and the pigeon just kind of flies out the window and we?re laughing and maybe you reach over and kiss me. Or maybe you never do. No big deal. My crushes on women might keep me warm at night, but it?s not exactly like I find it debilitating or anything. I?ll get over it if nothing ever happens between us. And I can be a pretty good friend. I don?t mind helping people move or painting things or lifting up heavy stuff or possibly making your very bad boyfriend disappear into the Pine Barrens to never again emerge. I never had a sister and I always wanted one, and I?m pretty sure I can be a very good platonic friend even if I sometimes want to make out with you. If it doesn?t sketch you out too much.

I do think sometimes my friends use me as a Junior Woodchuck Boyfriend ? I'm good at flirting and sometimes I write funny little poems about adorable things you do. And I am kinda funny. I usually have a Mystery Science Theatre Worthy smartass comment on the tip of my tongue. I'm a particularly delightful travel companion, I like going to the mall. Shopping interests me. I am willing to get matching tattoos with you if you wanna. Maybe bears?

I don?t think ladies should read this Scientific American article and think Everyone Wants to Date ME! Even if they do. It?s just a terrible way to go through life. Yes, men in general want to be more than friends with you. I guess it?s just somehow we?re wired according to ?Science? and ?Scientists? and ?People Who Deal With Inconvenient Facts That Fuck My Shit Up.? But you already know all this. There?s sometimes a weird moment when you?re taking the F train and I?m taking the J train when we try to figure out if we?re going to hug or shake hands or high five or run away to France together. There might be a little bit more than just a friendship between us, even if you are interested in more handsome men who might treat you badly. I am just never gonna do that, no matter what the doctors say. I?m never going to neg you. I?m not gonna pretend I didn?t get your texts. ?Oh, my phone must have been off.? I?m not gonna do that. I don?t want to pretend I?m more self-confident than I am. I?m just never going to play that game.

When I like you I like you. Whether you want to be just friends or you want to fall madly in love with me. If you don?t want to be friends anymore, I?d understand. I don?t want that, but okay. If you were that bugged by me liking you all this time, you could have tried to hook me up with one of your friends or something. Unless you just think I?d make a terrible boyfriend or something? Is that what you?re saying? Oh yeah? Well maybe we shouldn?t be friends then! Okay! Fine!

I?m still here, I?m just kidding. I value our friendship way more than any dumb attraction. Let me know if you still wanna go pick pumpkins this weekend. I promise I won?t try to hold your hand. Unless you wanna.

Jim Behrle is the author of 'SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND' (Pressed Wafer).

Source: http://thehairpin.com/2012/10/can-we-still-be-friends

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Climate Scientist Sues for Defamation

Climatologist Michael Mann has sued two organizations that have accused him of improperly manipulating data

By The Daily Climate

"There is a larger context ... namely the onslaught of dishonest and libelous attacks that climate scientists have endured for years." -Michael Mann Image: Flickr/AAUP

Michael Mann, an influential climatologist who has spent years in the center of the debate over climate science, has sued two organizations that have accused him of academic fraud and of improperly manipulating data.

Mann, director of Pennsylvania State University's Earth System Science Center, on Monday sued the National Review and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, along with two of their authors, Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn.?

The lawsuit, Mann's lawyer said in a statement, was based upon their "false and defamatory statements" accusing him of academic fraud and comparing him to a convicted child molester, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Neither Mann nor his lawyer, John B. Williams of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Cozen O'Connor, were available for comment Tuesday afternoon. But on Facebook, where news of the lawsuit was initially posted Tuesday, Mann said the lawsuit was part of "a battle" to assist climate scientists in the fight against those who attack their work.

"There is a larger context for this latest development," he wrote, "namely the onslaught of dishonest and libelous attacks that climate scientists have endured for years by dishonest front groups seeking to discredit the case for concern over climate change."

But he faces a high bar: Mann has played a key role in climate science for decades, and the law generally requires a much higher burden of proof from public figures, said CEI general counsel Sam Kazman.

"I don't think he's got a shot at reaching it," Kazman said in an interview. "Our stuff may have been debatable, but it was solidly based and we had a perfect right to say what we did."

"We plan to defend the suit vigorously but we think it is a totally unfounded lawsuit."

In 1999 Mann published a timeline of global temperatures stretching back almost 1,000 years. The graph showed a fairly stable trend until 1900, when temperatures spiked sharply upward. That so-called "hockey stick" diagram became a lightning rod in the debate on whether humans were influencing the climate.

In 2007 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore and ?authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report for work connecting human activities to global warming.

$500,000 and two years
Two years later a cache of emails illegally obtained from University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom purported to show climate scientists manipulating data. Many of the emails were to or from Michael Mann.

Upwards of seven organizations, from the National Science Foundation to Penn State, conducted investigations into Mann's work. All declared baseless allegations of academic fraud.

Yet the attacks persisted: Virginia Attorney General spent $500,000 and two years unsuccessfully suing to obtain email correspondence from the University of Virginia, where Mann worked from 1999 to 2005.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=4146472fc3d4f1fe22d9d4d3a1b3b445

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Earnings Preview: Merck to focus on new drugs

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ? Merck & Co., a Dow component, will focus on its experimental drugs in late-stage development and on several products driving growth when it reports its third-quarter earnings before the stock market opens Friday.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: CEO Kenneth Frazier will discuss sales of key products and new ones on the horizon as Merck tries to retain momentum after its top seller, Singulair for asthma and allergies, got U.S. generic competition on Aug. 3. Sales have plunged since then.

Singulair was the world's 11th-best-selling drug in 2011, generating sales of $5.5 billion. That's more than 10 percent of revenue for Merck, the world's third-biggest drugmaker by revenue.

Merck has said it expects to apply for regulatory approval to sell several major new products between 2012 and the end of 2013.

Those include suvorexant, a new type of insomnia drug with minimal morning grogginess, and vorapaxar, an anticlotting drug for preventing heart attacks and strokes in certain patients. The others are osteoporosis drug odanacatib, cholesterol medicine Tredaptive, ovarian and non-small cell lung cancer drug vintafolide, a drug to reverse the effects of anesthesia called Bridion and an improved version of Gardasil, Merck's blockbuster vaccine against sexually transmitted cancers caused by human papilloma virus.

None of those applications have been submitted yet, so Frazier is expected to give an update on those plans.

Another experimental drug, ridaforolimus for treating recurrence of rare cancers in bones, muscles, blood vessels and fat, was blocked by the Food and Drug Administration this summer. The agency said it won't approve the drug unless Merck does further testing. Company executives may discuss how they will address that.

Executives will discuss progress on other experimental drugs, including a new diabetes medicine known as MK-3102 recently shown to significantly lower blood sugar without much risk of dangerous hypoglycemia. The company also recently licensed rights to two experimental HIV drugs, to complement a third one Merck has in midstage testing.

Analysts will be watching sales trends for Merck's surging franchise of pills to treat increasingly common Type 2 diabetes, led by Januvia, as well as sales of Gardasil, shingles vaccine Zostavax, HIV drug Isentress and new hepatitis C drug Victrelis.

Analysts may ask about Merck's announcement this month that it plans to move its sprawling, preserve-like headquarters for the past 20 years from Whitehouse Station 25 miles across New Jersey to Summit. It's part of ongoing efforts to lower costs and reduce real estate holdings since Merck's November 2009 acquisition of fellow New Jersey drugmaker Schering-Plough Corp.

WHY IT MATTERS: The plunge in Singulair sales due to new U.S. generic competition likely will reduce total revenue and could hurt net income, depending on how well Merck continues to cut costs. But the company has experience bouncing back when patents expire for drugs that produce a tenth or more of total sales. Merck continued to post strong profits after that happened to Fosamax for osteoporosis, in 2008, and Zocor for high cholesterol, in 2006.

Analyst Catherine Arnold of Credit Suisse wrote to investors this week that she expects "manageable" pressure on profit margins after Singulair. She added that Merck remains the "value pick" among major pharmaceutical companies she follows, given its pipeline potential, attractive share price and upcoming data on a few drugs that could boost the stock.

WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts polled by FactSet, on average, expect earnings per share of 93 cents and sales of $11.57 billion.

LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Merck reported profit of $1.69 billion, or 55 cents per share, on revenue of $12.02 billion.

___

Linda A. Johnson can be followed at http://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/earnings-preview-merck-focus-drugs-103247682--finance.html

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Stolen car used in Beirut's bombing

A Lebanese man prays at the grave of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan and his bodyguard, Ahmad Sahyouni, who were assassinated on Friday by a car bomb, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. Opponents of Syria have blamed the regime in Damascus for the killing of Lebanese Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan in a Beirut car bomb on Friday. With Lebanon already tense and deeply divided over the civil war next door, the assassination has threatened to drag the country back into the kind of sectarian strife that plagued it for decades much of it linked to Syria.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A Lebanese man prays at the grave of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan and his bodyguard, Ahmad Sahyouni, who were assassinated on Friday by a car bomb, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. Opponents of Syria have blamed the regime in Damascus for the killing of Lebanese Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan in a Beirut car bomb on Friday. With Lebanon already tense and deeply divided over the civil war next door, the assassination has threatened to drag the country back into the kind of sectarian strife that plagued it for decades much of it linked to Syria.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A Lebanese honor guard carries a coffin wrapped with Lebanese flags of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, who was assassinated on Friday by a car bomb, during their funeral procession at Martyrs' Square in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. Thousands of Lebanese waving the national flag packed a central square in downtown Beirut Sunday for the funeral of a top intelligence official assassinated in a car bombing that many blame on the regime in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese Army soldiers remove garbage containers used as a roadblock in a neighborhood after overnight clashes between Sunni and Shiite gunmen in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. Shortly before noon Lebanese troops began a big operation in the capital aiming to open all closed roads and to force gunmen out of the streets after overnight clashes between Sunni and Shiite gunmen following the funeral of Lebanese Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, who was killed in a car bomb in an east Beirut neighborhood on Friday. (AP Photo/Ahmad Omar)

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol a neighborhood after overnight clashes between Sunni and Shiite gunmen in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. Shortly before noon Lebanese troops began a big operation in the capital aiming to open all closed roads and to force gunmen out of the streets after overnight clashes between Sunni and Shiite gunmen following the funeral of Lebanese Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, who was killed in a car bomb in an east Beirut neighborhood on Friday. (AP Photo/Ahmad Omar)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Lebanon's police chief says the car used in the Beirut bombing that killed a top anti-Syrian intelligence chief was stolen more than a year ago.

Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi also told a group of journalists late Monday that Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan was using a rented car that was not armored for camouflage.

Rifi said al-Hassan was killed while on his way back from one of his secret offices where he used to meet with informants.

Al-Hassan's killing in a Beirut car bomb on Friday has driven up political tensions and sparked violence between supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his opponents.

Al-Hassan was solidly in the latter group, and his supporters, many of them Sunni Muslims, blamed Damascus for the killing.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-23-Lebanon/id-96b5b1ddeb0a4c6faefbf4758f0c57c0

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Romney looks to transform momentum into votes

Romney at Red Rocks (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

MORRISON, Colo.?Mitt Romney isn't a rock star, but on Tuesday night, he was treated like one.

The Republican presidential nominee attracted nearly 12,000 people?easily one of his biggest crowds ever?at a rally held at one of the most famous concert venues in the country: the Red Rocks Amphitheater built into the Rocky Mountains outside Denver.

The historic open-air venue has hosted some of the more memorable performances in the annals of rock and roll, including a 1983 concert that marked the first time many Americans had heard of a then little-known Irish band called U2.

While Romney did not arrive on stage with the flash and showmanship of Bono, the GOP nominee, who was introduced by his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, elicited a reaction from the crowd that could have rivaled those received by any modern day pop star. Packed high into the nosebleed seats running high along the sandstone cliffs that were illuminated by blue lights and the now familiar "R" of the Romney campaign logo, people jumped to their feet and screamed at the sight of the GOP nominee.

"Wow," Romney said, pausing to bask in the glow of a crowd cheering so loud it made his words hard to hear. "What a place this is? This is a magnificent place. For a guy born in Detroit to come here and look at these extraordinary mountains? It's just overwhelming."

The rally capped off a day in which Romney sought to capitalize on what he repeatedly insisted was momentum coming off his three debates with President Barack Obama. Echoing remarks he made earlier Tuesday at a rally outside Las Vegas, Romney insisted his campaign was now "super charged" heading into the election's final two weeks.

"We're in the homestretch now, and I think the people of Colorado are going to get us all the way there," Romney said, imploring supporters in this key battleground state to vote early and to convince others to give his campaign a chance.

Not unlike other recent speeches, the GOP nominee went out of his way to play up his history of working with Democrats as governor of Massachusetts and pledged that, if elected, he and Ryan would seek out "good Democrats and good Independents" willing to work to change Washington.

"We're going to have to have a real change. The president said he was a president of change," Romney said. "But in fact he's become a president of status quo. And the policies of the president are a continuation of what we have seen over the last four years."

But it's unclear how Romney's message of bipartisanship went down with the audience. Just before Romney took the stage, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez spoke about the need to turn the country around?and told supporters that the GOP's push to unseat Obama wasn't personal.

She praised Obama as a man who loves his family and his country?a comment that elicited loud boos from some in the crowd.

On Wednesday, Romney heads back to Nevada, where he'll hold a rally in Reno, before heading to Iowa and then to Ohio.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/greeted-rock-star-romney-looks-transform-momentum-votes-042245330--election.html

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Ind. GOP Senate candidate stands by rape comment

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said Wednesday that he is standing by his statement that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape "that's something God intended." He says some people have twisted the meaning of his comment.

Mourdock said in a news conference that he abhors any sexual violence and regrets it if his comment during a debate Tuesday night left another impression. He said he firmly believes all life is precious and that he abhors violence of any kind.

"I spoke from my heart. And speaking from my heart, speaking from the deepest level of my faith, I would not apologize. I would be less than faithful if I said anything other than life is precious, I believe it's a gift from god," Mourdock said

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other Republicans have distanced themselves from Mourdock's stance.

Mourdock, who has been locked in one of the country's most expensive and closely watched Senate races, was asked during the final minutes of a debate Tuesday night whether abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest.

"I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen," Mourdock said.

Mourdock maintained at the news conference that he was misunderstood.

"I think that God can see beauty in every life," Mourdock said. "Certainly, I did not intend to suggest that God wants rape, that God pushes people to rape, that God wants to support or condone evil in any way."

Mourdock became the second GOP Senate candidate to find himself on the defensive over comments about rape and pregnancy. Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin said in August that women's bodies have ways of preventing pregnancy in cases of what he called "legitimate rape." Since his comment, Akin has repeatedly apologized but has refused to leave his race despite calls to do so by leaders of his own party, including GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte canceled her plan to campaign Wednesday with Mourdock. Ayotte's spokesman, Jeff Grappone, said that the senator disagrees with Mourdock's comments, which do not represent her views.

More than two dozen Indiana Republicans met for the Mourdock fundraiser Ayotte was supposed to headline Wednesday afternoon. Speaking inside the fundraiser hosted by the Indianapolis Women's Republican Club, state party chairman Eric Holcomb declined comment on Mourdock's refusal to apologize.

"I think he covered it," Holcomb said. Asked if Ayotte's cancellation would hurt Mourdock's fundraising, Holcomb said "I think we're full steam ahead."

Mourdock also was scheduled to appear at a Republican fundraiser Wednesday night in the wealthy Indianapolis suburb of Carmel.

Other Republicans were split on their reaction to Mourdock Wednesday morning.

Indiana gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence, who has been a leading social conservative in Congress, said Mourdock should apologize for the comment. Spokeswomen for the two Republican women running for Congress in Indiana, Jackie Walorski and Susan Brooks, said they also disagreed with Mourdock's comments.

But the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has invested heavily in Mourdock and Indiana, said the candidate's words were being twisted.

"Richard and I, along with millions of Americans - including even Joe Donnelly - believe that life is a gift from God. To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous," NRSC Chairman and Texas Sen. John Cornyn said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear what effect Mourdock's comments might have during the final two weeks in the increasingly tight race against Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly. But they could prove problematic. Romney distanced himself from Mourdock on Tuesday ? a day after a television ad featuring the former Massachusetts governor supporting the GOP Senate candidate began airing in Indiana.

"Gov. Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock, and Mr. Mourdock's comments do not reflect Gov. Romney's views. We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul told The Associated Press Wednesday. Romney aides said his ad supporting Mourdock would not be pulled from Indiana's airwaves.

National Democrats quickly picked up on Mourdock's statement and used it as an opportunity to paint him as an extreme candidate, calling him a tea party "zealot." DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz described Mourdock's comments as "outrageous and demeaning to women" and called on Romney to take his pro-Mourdock ad off the air.

Mourdock has consistently opposed abortion, with the exception of cases where the mother's life is in danger. His stark anti-abortion stance earned him the endorsement of Indiana Right to Life in the Republican primary and the general election.

In response, Donnelly said after the debate in southern Indiana that he doesn't believe "my God, or any God, would intend that to happen."

Mourdock, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress three times before becoming state treasurer, became one of the tea party's biggest winners of the 2012 primary season when he knocked off veteran Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in a brutal campaign. Initially, national Republicans stayed out of the Indiana race because the race had appeared to be a likely win for the GOP.

But as the race grew tighter in recent months, Mourdock changed his tune and started trying to woo moderate voters. At the same time, top Republicans began stumping for Mourdock around the state in a push to break open the high-stakes Senate race. Republicans need to gain three seats, or four if President Barack Obama wins re-election, and seats that were predicted to remain or turn Republican have grown uncertain.

Donnelly, a moderate Democrat who opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is in danger, has spent much of his campaign highlighting Mourdock's tea party ties and trying to accuse him of being too extreme even for conservative Indiana.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-24-Indiana%20Senate-Abortion/id-7a1669a2fb20455daa790fd00c74ebf6

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Samsung Galaxy S III is the first MetroPCS handset to support Google Wallet

While the US wireless industry seems far away from finding a universal mobile payment system, T-Mobile's new BFF MetroPCS appears to have made its choice. Taking to its official Facebook page, the carrier announced on Monday that the Samsung Galaxy S III is its first handset to support Google Wallet. In choosing Google's mobile payment platform, MetroPCS joins two of its biggest competitors, Sprint and US Cellular. It should be noted that T-Mobile is deeply committed to Google's wireless payment competitor Isis, which recently became ready for public consumption. Once the two carriers exchange nuptials next year, it's possible that we could be looking at the wireless industry's first mobile payment Brady Bunch. However, looking back at T-Mobile's previous attempts at mobile matrimony, we won't be holding our breath waiting for this union to become official.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S III is the first MetroPCS handset to support Google Wallet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/22/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-metropcs-google-wallet/

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